{"id":425,"date":"2016-12-14T21:53:53","date_gmt":"2016-12-14T22:53:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/howtokauai.com\/?p=425"},"modified":"2025-01-21T17:57:04","modified_gmt":"2025-01-21T17:57:04","slug":"there-are-no-cool-cars-in-ontario","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/howtokauai.com\/index.php\/2016\/12\/14\/there-are-no-cool-cars-in-ontario\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018There Are No Cool Cars In Ontario.\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

I know, I know, I need to stop with the sensationalist titles, but I\u2019ve heard and read variants of \u201cthere are no cool cars in Toronto\u201d for years and usually they are precursors to the blanket statement that there are no cool cars in all<\/em> of Ontario.<\/p>\n

Whenever these discussions start, be it Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or otherwise I have to wonder if people are talking about the same province in which I reside. No I\u2019m not delusional, I know that Ontario is not California, Vegas or Austin, and certainly\u00a0not Japan, but that doesn\u2019t mean the scene here is terrible or in dire straits.<\/p>\n

To prove this point I\u2019ve interspersed photos of several unique, creative, high quality (or all of the above) builds into this post. Something that, if the title statement were true, I wouldn\u2019t be able to do.<\/p>\n

To double down on my point all of these photos\u00a0are exclusively from the 2016 season.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

In the time I\u2019ve spent shooting and writing about vehicles in Ontario I have, year in year out, come across builds that are just as creative as the ones I see online from other parts of the globe. The rub is that these cool builds are not going to roll past your front porch while you shake your cane at those damn kids with their titled wheels, or drop you an email just because you discovered\u00a0a cool cursive font to use for a logo, and put the letters \u2018est\u2019 in front of the current calendar year.<\/p>\n

Finding the true gems takes a little effort.<\/p>\n

\"fitted-lifestyle-2016-1936-copperhead-3-dt\"<\/a>By a little effort I mean making a point to check out events different from the ones you usually do, rather than going to the same shows year after year and being disappointed.<\/p>\n

If you don\u2019t like a particular show for whatever reason, be it previous experiences or the type of vehicle they cater to, then don\u2019t go, it\u2019s that simple.<\/p>\n

\"2016-autofest-15\"<\/a>Going, then complaining after the fact is counter productive. There are several shows in the area that simply exist to make money, it\u2019s unfortunate but it\u2019s true, and as long as they have the entry fee of the participants and enough spectator ticket sales to make it into the black, these shows are not going to lose sleep over criticisms lobbied after the fact. Why? Because based on support (read: dollars) there is no reason that they should.<\/p>\n

The only way these shows and events will realize that people are tired of their lather rinse repeat approach is if their pocket books are affected.<\/p>\n

\"2016-northern-showdown-13\"<\/a>Otherwise come the same time next year they will wind their marketing machine up making claims of quality, but ultimately failing to deliver because they\u2019ve done nothing to attract or uphold any level of quality or originality at their event.<\/p>\n

On the other\u00a0side of the coin if you run a show and are constantly taking shots at the local scene leading up to, and after, your event ask yourself what are you doing to encourage the creativity and eye for detail you\u2019ve identified as a problem.<\/p>\n

\"2016-northern-showdown-42\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Do you start to let cars slip past your \u201crigorous\u201d screening process once it becomes clear you\u2019re not going to met your minimums? If so perhaps you ought to take a page from some of the more pro active events in the area.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s no secret that I hold Northern Showdown<\/a> in high regard as one of the better outdoor shows in the surrounding greater Toronto area. The organizers not only put in a lot of work the day of to make sure things go smoothly, they spend the months leading up to the event hitting the pavement and finding the quality builds hiding out in the pockets of Ontario.<\/p>\n

\"2016-autofest-5\"<\/a>This proactive approach has allowed them to maintain and grow a fresh show field full of vehicles that are both of high standard and unique.\u00a0Doing away with the typical first through third class in model for awards and opting for an over all top 50 is a quick way to cut through the politics that often ruin shows and prevent people from returning.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not encouraging trophy hunting<\/a> by any means but if the same cars win the same awards year after year, especially when there are better cars in the venue, why should people come to your event with their latest build?<\/p>\n

\"2016-jalopy-jam-up-39\"<\/a>Showdown\u00a0isn\u2019t\u00a0alone either, the Jalopy Jam Up is another show\u00a0born from a desire to do better. Jeff Norwell\u00a0and crew didn\u2019t see an event catering to the traditional hot rods they\u00a0wanted to see locally so the Jam Up was born, which isn\u2019t too far off from\u00a0what David Soo at Fitted did on the complete opposite end of the spectrum, or what the organizers of Berlin Klassik have done with their events.<\/p>\n

\"20160711_191512\"<\/a>Shows of course only represent a subset of the community here in Ontario and anyone criticizing the local scene that hasn\u2019t been to a cruise-in isn\u2019t giving Ontario it\u2019s fair shake.<\/p>\n

Some of the craziest builds I\u2019ve come across were not found at shows but instead casual weekly, free, cruise-ins that take place all over the province.<\/p>\n

\"20160827_185132\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Any enthusiasts skipping out on these free events is doing themselves a disservice, and if you\u2019re from the greater Toronto area and have never been to Engineered Automotive<\/a>\u2018s Cars and Coffee you\u2019re missing out on a great monthly summer event.<\/p>\n

\"cars-and-coffee-toronto-finale-2016-4\"<\/a>Still find the cars you see there lackluster? Then dig deeper still, go to BBQs and open houses held by local shops and at these events make friends and connections, word of mouth is how\u00a0I\u2019ve become aware of many of the best events I\u2019ve ever been to.<\/p>\n

\"money-gang-bbq-f20-ae86-2\"<\/a>You\u2019d be surprised just what level of build lay in some of the most unassuming garages in the corners of town you don\u2019t often travel. This is to say nothing about the absolutely mind-blowing projects sitting at some of the higher end outfits in the area.<\/p>\n

\"miro-charger-10\"<\/a>Getting to know people at these events also allows you to become better embedded into your local scene rather than someone who sits on the side wagging a disapproving finger.<\/p>\n

\"hitman-hot-rods-32\"<\/a>Still disappointed? Then maybe stationary cars are not your thing, instead of taking time out of your day to harp on those who don\u2019t like to go fast take advantage of the plethora of track events, and race series, we\u2019re lucky to\u00a0call our own in Ontario.<\/p>\n

\"formula-drift-canada-2016-round-2-show-z31\"<\/a>It\u2019s impossible to go to a track event and not see something cool on the track and in the parking lot, and if you want the best if both worlds the Canadian Sport Compact Series<\/a> is a great place to start.<\/p>\n

\"formula-drift-canada-2016-round-2-mats-baribeau-5\"<\/a>Finally if you\u2019re standards are so high that you really can\u2019t find any cool cars to your liking then build one yourself. Become the bar that you want people to aspire to, if absolutely nothing else at least the journey along the way will be worth it, and you will have a great build to show\u00a0for your efforts.<\/p>\n

\"motorama-or-bust-pt-5-blair-brian-will\"<\/a><\/p>\n

No cool cars in Ontario? Well that statement just couldn\u2019t be any further from the truth and if you think it is I urge you to put in a little\u00a0effort to take a better look around or pick up a wrench and show us all how it\u2019s done.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I know, I know, I need to stop with the sensationalist titles, but I\u2019ve heard and read variants of \u201cthere […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":427,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-425","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-editorials"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/howtokauai.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/425","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/howtokauai.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/howtokauai.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/howtokauai.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/howtokauai.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=425"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/howtokauai.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/425\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":444,"href":"https:\/\/howtokauai.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/425\/revisions\/444"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/howtokauai.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/427"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/howtokauai.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=425"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/howtokauai.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=425"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/howtokauai.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=425"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}